Flexible tire.



PATENTED APR. 3, 1906.

A. VANYDER STIGHBLEN.

FLEXIBLE TIRE.

APPLIOATION FILED DEG 16. 1904.

nnrrnn sri'rns PA ENT orrron.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 16, 1904. Serial Nd. 237,118.

Patented April 3, 1906.

T all whom) it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT VANDER S'rron- ELEN, a subject of the King of Bel ium, residing at 47 Rue du Patin, Gan in the Kingdom of Belgium, have invented new and useful Improvements Flexible Tires, of

which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved tire for the wheels of automobiles, carria es, bicycles, and generally for vehicles of al kind I It is designed to rovide a tire without an air-chambenbut ich shall possess all the qualities from the point of view of elasticity and resiliency of an ordinary pneumatic tire without being exposed, however, to the inconveniences-inherent in this kind of tiresuch, for example, as bursts and punctures.

The tire which is the. object of the invention is characterized, essentially, by an envelop or cover of rubber and canvas of the same kind as those used with ordinary pneumatic tires, but provided on each side with two cushions of soft rubber ca able of giving s'pringiness. Inside this enve c or cover'is p aced a rin or circle of steel, a uminium,'or other suitab e material, of which the diameter can ,be increased or diminished by means of appropriate mechanism acting on the extremities of the ring or circle and capable of being actuated from the exterior of the felly of the wheel in such a manner as to put the metallic circle or ring in the interior-of the,

tire under compression and also to give to it the necessary rigidit a 1 The invention will be fully described with reference'to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 isa transverse section of a tire constructed according to the invention; Fig. 2, a'nelevation of wheel provided with a tire con structed inaccordance with the invention, the latter being partly in section to show the device for regulating the compression of the -metal ringinside the cover.

As shown in the drawings, the envelop or cover 1 is formed of rubber and of one or more layers of canvas 2. This envelo is secured any suitablemanner to the fe ly 31-. for instance, by means of angle-pieces 4, fixed to the felly and maintained in position by grips orclamps 5, secured by screws and nuts 6. The layers of canvas 2, combined with the rubber 1, form'the sides of the tire and at nearly its mid-heighttwo pockets are formed from the outside of the tire.

means of the two sma which receive internally a cushion or ring of soft or flexible rubber 8.

In the interior of the tire before it is fixed on the folly of the wheel a ring or circle 9 of steel, aluminium, or other suitable material,

is placed. This rin or circle is preferably made in the form s own in Fi 1, to press against the internal periphery o the envelop or cover, and its edges 10 are slightly turned over to augment the rigidit of the ring or circle 9 and to form a sort 0 groove, permitting the two, extremities 11 and 12 of the ring toslideone on the other, Fig. 2. The extremities 11 and 12 of the ringor circle 9 are united by a suitabledevice capable of putting the ring or circle under compression-that is to say, capable of increasingor diminishing at will the diameter of the ring or circle by means acting onits extremities, governed 1 suitable arrangement for this purpose. As shown in thisfigure, one of the extremities 12 of the ring or. circle 9 carries'asmall support or bracket 13, through which the other extremity ll'passes in a suitablegroov'e or slot. This extremityll is also provided with a similar bracket or projection 14, which forms.

a nut. A screw 15 passes. through the two Fig. 2 shows a supports or brackets 13 and 14 and carries at its extremity exterior to the first-described support or bracket a small pinion or bevelwheel-16, gearin with a second pinion 17,

mounted on a ro or spindle 18, carried in an armor projection from the said support or bracket 13 and extending to the outside of the. felly 3 ofthe wheel m a mannersomewhat similar to the valves of ordinary pneumatic tires. 1. It will be seen from the above that if the rod or spindle 18, carrying the small pinion or bevel-wheel, is rotated by means of a key, a

thumb-screw, or any other suitable means the screw 15, carried by the supports or brackets 13 and 14 on the extremities of the internal circle or rin 9, Will be rotated b inions or bevel-whee s and will cause the'sai supports or brackets 13 and 14 to be drawn together, causing a corresponding increase in the diameter of the ring or circle 9. A rotation of the rod or spindle 18 in the opposite direction will, on t econtrary, cause adecrease in the diamroo eter of the ring OI"0IlI0l6 It is ossible-thus by a suitable rotation (of-the sai rod or spindle 18 to roduce any increase desired in the compression of the circle or ring 9 and to give to the cover or envelop the rigidity necessary according to the wei ht which is to be support-- tion of the rubber rings or cushions 8 on each side oi the tire results therefrom, the arts of the canvas '7 inclosing these cus 'ons stretching and approaching each other in such a manner as to .permit'of the incrcaseofthe diameter of the envelop or cover.

The wheel thus constructed is in some sort suspended in an elastic manner in the center of the system formed by the envelop or cover inits internal circle or ring '9. When it is retated, the shocks received on its lower art transmit themselves to the ring or circ e 9 which tends to displace itself concentrically with regard to the axis or to the felly of the wheel. This movement is near] deadened throug'h'outthe circumference 0 the wheel by the soft-rubber cushions or rings 8 at either side of the tire, which stretch in the upper part of the wheel.

A tire is thus obtained which possesses all the advantages of. an actual pneumatic tire a lining of textile material stre name to this specification in the slightly without,however, being exposed to-the bursts, c punctures,'and .deflations'"which often take place withsuch tires.

What -I claim is 1. A non-inflated tire com rising a cover, a linin for said cover, res ient or spring means or placing said cover under tension, said lining having annular pockets therein and elastically-extensible material contained in. said pockets and arranged to be put under tension by said resilient or'spring means.

2. A non-inflated tire comprising a cover, thening the same, a metallic ring placed insi c the cover, means for-expanding said ring, whereb the tire is placed under tension, said lining eing 4,5

provided with pockets on each side of the cover, a pair of exible india-rubber rings inclosed in said pockets, the said flexible rings being expanded by said metallic ring to give resiliency to the tire, substantially as de 5o scribed-. v a

In testimony whereof I. have signed my presence of two subscribing witnesses. ALBERT VANDER STIOHELENU Witnesses:

GEORGE BEDE, GREGORY PHELAN. 

